The subject matter of Invisible Eagle—the occult roots of Hitler’s Nazis—is a fascinating one, if only to interact with some of the most difficult enigmas of evil in recent history. This goes right on par with trying to understand such minds as those of ISIS or Timothy Mcveigh, and while certainly disturbing, offers a great deal to ponder. How could a single, twisted individual like Adolf Hitler influence and corrupt an entire nation-worth of followers into finding any reasonableness in the wholesale slaughter of millions of human beings, simply because of their race? “Genocide” is too soft a word to describe the Holocaust, Hitler’s assembly-line of murder, and to try and honestly contemplate it simply boggles the mind. Alan Baker’s book certainly helps the reader gain at least a hint of backstory to one of the 20th century’s most famous genocidal maniacs, but after just a few chapters, I felt like enough was enough.

One strategy that Baker attempted—likely as an appeal to the truly wacky conspiracy theorists who undoubtedly make up the better half of his audience—was to expressly state that his earliest chapters would be based upon sound historical data and records, but that as he progressed through the chapters, his sources would become increasingly more sketchy and his propositions would become increasingly more like science-fiction. I’m not a wacky conspiracy theorist, so this was less an appeal and more a blaring red siren. I knew from very early on that I would not be finishing this book. Still, the subject matter intrigued me, so I ventured in, despite the warnings.

Particularly useful is Baker’s very first chapter, a prologue of sorts that deals with the question of evil, albeit from a secular’s perspective. While I don’t really know Baker’s own religious background, I found it distinctly telling about Evil and Hitler’s War Machine that this author researching the Occult would summarize the enigma this way: “Hitler’s ultimate nature can only be completely understood by God.” (4)

Hitler’s own mental state also had a large impact on where his philosophies eventually led him. Somewhere along the line, he had convinced himself (through the heavy influence of others, Charles Darwin not the least among them) that the world’s greatest problems were nothing more than a mere illness, a global sickness that required a remedy. “Hitler thought he was a doctor! Killing germs! That’s all Jews were to him! He believed he was doing good, not evil!” (11)

Whether Hitler was truly crazy or not, my question about his mentality is this: why is anyone surprised? Isn’t this merely the logical conclusion of all Darwinian theory? According to secular philosophy steeped in evolutionary theory, aren’t the most of us merely a cosmic accident? Shouldn’t the fittest survive? Won’t we better humanity by euthanizing the weak, the sick, the less-than-perfect? The problem of Hitler’s evil is merely that he took his nation to the logical conclusion of Darwin’s philosophy, which is something that most secularists aren’t willing to admit, though many of them still desire to secretly walk his same paths. Eugenics is the Nazi Party in formal dress. Euthanasia is the Holocaust, single-served.

I was glad to have read portions of this book on conjunction with the novel, The Auschwitz Escape. Wrestling with the ideas of Evil allowed me to maintain a proper perspective as I read about the real-life death camp at Auschwitz. It allowed me answer some of the “why?” questions behind a place so impossible, it should never have existed. The rest of the book was just too “out there” for me.

When an author of a nine-chapter book introduces that his book will become increasingly less believable as the chapters progress, and when in Chapter 3 he’s already talking about an ancient race of godlike people who live underground, you know you’re in for a real ride. I made it roughly 40% of the way through Invisible Eagle before putting it down, and I consider myself a survivor. If you love fantasy, the occult, or Hitler-tinged sci-fi (none of which are in my own personal top-ten), then you might enjoy this book. Otherwise, leave it for the weirdos.